Every year, we compile a list of the most-visited National Parks around the country, and aside from a few jumps and dives, not much changes. In 2018, the National Parks of America had another popular year, inspiring hundreds of millions with nature, history and culture. While some parks, like Olympic, continue to plummet in visitation compared with other popular parks, places like Rocky Mountain have surged upwards over the part few years, reaching new heights. Give this list a glance and see how many of the country’s most popular parks you have visited.
Another year has come and gone in our National Parks and trends continue downwards for overall park visitation. In 2018, over 318 million people visited National Park Service destinations spread across the nation, a reduction of 4% from the previous year. While visitation numbers are still up from a decade ago, the incredible boost our National Parks received in 2016 from the NPS centennial seems to be quickly diminishing. Luckily, millions of people still went outside to see the natural wonders of the nation in 2018, helping to give us this top 11 list of the most-visited parks of 2018.
AMERICA’S TOP 10 MOST-VISITED NATIONAL PARKS FOR 2018
#1 GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK
Last Year’s Ranking: 1
2018: 11,421,200
2017: 11,338,893
2016: 11,312,786
2015: 10.7 million
#2 GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK
Last Year’s Ranking: 2
2018: 6,380,495
2017: 5,843,094
2016: 6,969,811
2015: 5.5 million
#3 ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK
Last Year’s Ranking: 4
2018: 4,590,493
2017: 4,437,215
2016: 4,517,585
2015: 4.1 million
#4 ZION NATIONAL PARK
Last Year’s Ranking: 3
2018: 4,320,033
2017: 4,504,813
2016: 4,295,127
2015: 3.6 million
#5 YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
Last Year’s Ranking: 6
2018: 4,115,000
2017: 4,116,524
2016: 4,257,177
2015: 4.1 million
#6 YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK
Last Year’s Ranking: 5
2018: 4,009,436
2017: 4,274,366
2016: 5,028,868
2015: 4.1 million
#7 ACADIA NATIONAL PARK
Last Year’s Ranking: 7
2018: 3,537,575
2017: 3,509,272
2016: 3.303,393
2015: 2.8 million
#8 GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK
Last Year’s Ranking: 9
2018: 3,491,151
2017: 3,317,000
2016: 3,270,076
2015: 3.1 million
#9 OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK
Last Year’s Ranking: 8
2018: 3,104,455
2017: 3,401,996
2016: 3,390,221
2015: 3.3 million
#10 Glacier National Park
Last Year’s Ranking: 10
2018: 2,965,309
2017: 3,305,512
2016: 2,946,681
2015: 2.7 million
#11 JOSHUA TREE
Last Year’s Ranking: 11
2018: 2,942,382
2017: 2,853,619
2016: 2,505,286
2015: 2 million